Cold Calling is one of the vital aspects of Sales that helps in creation of the building blocks of the ‘Sales Pipeline’. Cold Calling has stood the test of time as the sales rep creates the first brand impression and also it is the first and foremost step towards an appointment or a demonstration of your product and services.

Here are 5 tips that have been practiced over the years for cold calling prospects without prior contact:

• The Opening Pitch

This part of the call includes a greeting to the prospect and also just an introduction about the sales rep.

The most important aspect is letting the prospect know why is he receiving a call out of the blue and what is the primary objective of the call (simple as to set an appointment or demonstration).

• Research about your Prospect before the Call

It is always important to target the call to the right audience. Using market research to focus on the target market and finding out as much as you possibly can about the company or individual you’re going to call in advance. This gives you the huge advantage of being able to talk about their business and their needs when you call them. Another reason why this proves vital is to ensure if the prospect is responsible for making buying decisions or not.

• Ask Questions

Another most important aspect of the call would be to understand if the prospect has already been with any of your competitors offering similar services. This step usually helps you to further qualify the lead in the sales funnel. For example, let’s say a sales rep asks a prospect if they have used a similar service in the past or are they using any currently? The answer to the question could mean two things:

• If the prospect has used a similar service or product in the past, then it would only require fewer efforts from the sales rep to educate the prospect about the product.
• If the prospect says that they are currently using a service and are bound by a contract with another two years- then, this would simply mean that the lead is disqualified.

• Ask for an appointment at a specific time during your cold call

This step is the crux of the call where sales reps need to be precise and confident.

To fix an appointment, it is a practice to recommend a day and time to understand if the prospect is available. For example a sales rep should Say, “Would Wednesday at 11 a.m. be a good time to meet?” instead of saying, “Can I meet with you to discuss this next week?” You want to get your prospect to commit to a meeting during this first call, rather than leaving it vague and leading to a second call to set up a meeting – which may never happen if you can’t get through to the prospect again. 

• Follow ups & embracing rejections

Follow ups are an important aspect of the sales cycle where the prospect is uncertain or needs time to think over the decision or when the prospect has to confer with the partner.  It is always good to check for day and time to follow up in these cases. Follow up is a process of lead nurturing which involves patience and resilience.

The final aspect of cold calling is embracing and handling rejections. Persistence is an essential attribute for cold calling. A sales person should always set his set sight on immediate learning and not on immediate sales. Cold calling can’t be mastered overnight, so setting a goal to learn something in every conversation with a prospect, good or bad: always helps.